


Forrest Green Forrest Blues

by NetflixandCastiellll



Category: Supernatural, Supernatural AU
Genre: Angst, College AU, Destiel - Freeform, Destiel Angst, Destiel Fluff, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Forrest Green Forrest Blues, Forrest Gump - Freeform, Frank Ocean - Freeform, Gen, High School AU, M/M, Multi, Other, Smoking, Smut, Supernatural AU - Freeform, castiel au, dean winchester au, destiel au, destiel smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-02
Updated: 2017-02-02
Packaged: 2018-09-21 16:04:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9556286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NetflixandCastiellll/pseuds/NetflixandCastiellll
Summary: Castiel Novak, Carver High’s nerd of the century, always sits at the top of the bleachers when his best friend drags him to games.  He couldn’t care less about what the score is because his entire focus is on the feeling of the cigarette between his lips. His only pull to the field is when Dean Winchester, the popular quarterback graces the game with his presence. This is their last year before graduation and everything is about to change.





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> This series is inspired by some Frank Ocean songs.Feel free to listen to them before, during or after you read the chapters. Fair warning, there may be some spoilers if you listen to the songs BUT it could give you a good indication on what the characters are thinking beyond what I put into the fics. 
> 
> Songs:  
> Forrest Gump -Title inspiration, Castiel character inspiration and plot  
> Super Rich Kids- Dean character inspiration and plot  
> Sweet Life- Dean character inspiration and plot  
> Self Control- Dean and Castiel character and plot inspiration  
> Seigfried- Dean’s letter to Castiel and plot  
> Godspeed- Mostly Castiel’s letter to Dean with a little bit of Dean to Cas and plot

 

Senior year for Castiel had begun and the hallway walls were plastered with student painted banners advertising the homecoming football game. The blue-eyed kid couldn’t wait for the year to be over. He wanted to get out of the dreadfully small town he grew up in and move to California where his sister now lived. He knew life had so much more to offer than stingy diners and suburban neighborhoods where everyone knew everyone else’s business. The biggest news to hit the town this month was that Mrs. Mills’ cat was saved from the old oak tree. What a joke.

Castiel walked mindlessly down the south wing with his best friend Charlie while she rambled on about her new classes and how she was planning to hack one of the teacher’s lesson plans.

“It will be the biggest laugh of the year if I get Mr. Singer to show the class that video within the first week,” laughed Charlie. She saw that Castiel was staring off into the distance, not paying attention to a word she just said. “Hello? Earth to Cas… It’d be funny, right?” She waved her hand in front of Cas’ face to bring him back to reality.

“Huh? Oh yeah… sure, “ murmured Cas, as he kept walking and nearly running into a stray garbage can.  

“Thanks for your support, best friend,” Charlie said sarcastically while she punched him in the shoulder.

“Sorry, Charlie. I’m just distracted.” Cas sighed and shrugged.

“No kidding… What’s got your brain all fuzzy?” They both stopped when they reached their neighboring lockers.

“Nothing. I just was thinking about California again.”

“Oh right. Your big plans to leave me high and dry after graduation! How could I forget?” Charlie closed her locker after picking out a few books and then leaned on it, waiting for Cas to gather his supplies. “You just can’t wait to leave us all here in the dust, can you,” moped Charlie.

“It’s not like that… plus you could always come with me if you wanted.” Cas finished up and they started walking to their next class.

“You know I can’t do that, Cas… I’ve got my mom to think about.”

“True. Sorry.” There was a brief moment of awkward silence but the five-minute warning bell cut it off.

“Don’t worry about me, Cas. I’ll be fine here! I’ve got all these lame-os to keep me entertained.” She gestured to the rushing late students sliding through the halls. “ Tell you what… you can make it up to me by coming to the homecoming game tonight with me. I hacked the cheerleader’s uniform order and now their skirts are two inches shorter than they were supposed to be! It’s going to be glorious!”

“Really? A football game… can’t I just make it up to you by doing your English homework?”

Charlie didn’t answer him back. The screechy voice of their math teacher yelled at them through the door to take their seats. There was no use in arguing with Charlie anyhow; she was annoyingly persuasive without effort.

* * *

That night, Castiel sat at the very top of the bleachers while the rest of the school stood, cheered and sang along to their team’s fight song.  Sports were never Castiel’s cup of tea. He’d much rather be at home, reading books and listening to music. But the least he could do was pretend to have a good time. He watched Charlie gush over the cheerleaders and giggle at each of them trying to pull theirs skirts down further.

Cas was the only one who knew Charlie liked girls. In a small town like theirs, that news wouldn’t go over too well with the community. So he understood why she kept quiet but he felt special having be the only one she trusted enough. Cas hadn’t even fully come to terms with his own ever-changing sexuality. He hadn’t even told Charlie about it yet. But he wasn’t even sure what he could label himself as; he just loved… everyone. Not anyone in this town of course, but just people in general. They were all beautiful to him and he wanted to be able to experience it all without boundaries.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, the song was over and the game began. Castiel paid as much attention as he could to the game before some kids playing tag on the playground nearby distracted him.

“Wow! Did you see that play? There’s no way the other team can catch up now!” Charlie whooped and hollered down to the field as the team ran by and waved to their fellow classmates.

Castiel was just about bored out of his mind when something caught his eye. The quarterback was doing a victory dance surrounded by cheerleaders. He put his hands behind his head, made an arrogant duck face with his lips and swayed his hips from side to side.

“Oh great… here we go again. The beloved Dean Winchester, eating up all the attention being thrown at him. He just loves being a ham, doesn’t he?” Castiel rolled his eyes and pulled out a cigarette and lighter from his back pocket. He lit it and took a long drag.

Charlie wasn’t even paying attention to him anymore. For a nerd, she was surprisingly very into sports and she was wrapped up in yelling at the ref for a bad call. So Castiel sat back and babied his death stick while watching the next play. Without knowing why, Cas couldn’t peel his eyes away from Dean. He scoff at each of his arrogant movements but appreciated the way his body gracefully spun and dodged the apposing team. He couldn’t help but smirk to himself when Dean reached the end zone. Cas didn’t understand why he was taking such an interest in this guy… there wasn’t even anything entirely intriguing about him other than his obvious good looks. Castiel shrugged it off and then extinguished the ending butt of his cigarette onto the bleacher seat.

* * *

“Okay, class… today we will go through chapters two and three. Then I will assign you project partners for the year and we can get started on our first assignment,” explained Ms. Hanscum.

The instructions generated some bothered grumbles and a few eye rolls. Most of the class wanted to pick their own partners, which the teacher knew would just end up in a mess of distracted teens. So she chose to randomly assign partners and avoid any of those issues. Ms. Hanscum was Castiel’s favorite teacher. She was funny, smart and accepting. All of which are rare characteristics to find in people of this humdrum town.

“Okay… let’s see… Kevin! You’re with, Lena. Hm… Sam? You’re with… Jo! Now Charlie… who should we pair you with… let’s go with Lisa.” Charlie whooped under her breath, happy she got partnered with the beautiful head cheerleader.

“Sebastian? I’m putting you with Richard. Just don’t take advantage of my kindness on this one, okay? No funny business!” The two trouble making boys gave each other knowing smirks and chuckled to themselves. Ms. Hanscum went through the roster one by one, pairing everyone off. Just when Castiel thought he was forgotten, he heard his name.

“Castiel?”

“Yes, Ms. Hanscum,” Cas looked up from his desk patiently waiting to hear who he’d be stuck with for the new few months.

“I’m pairing you with Dean Winchester.”

The charming green-eyed student looked up and caught eyes with blue ones. They exchanged awkward smiles and waves across the room and then waited for the rest of the class to be paired off. Class ended and the room was nearly clear when Mrs. Hanscum called Castiel to her desk before he left.

“Mr. Novak? Do you have a moment? I need to speak with you about something.”

“Sure, Ms. H,” Cas replied. “I’ll catch you later Charlie. Save me a seat in Bio.” The messy haired kid waved to his friend and then dropped his bag into a seat.

“Okay… so Castiel… I asked you to stay back after class to discuss this years project partners situation.”

“Okay…”

“You’re probably wondering why I paired you with Dean Winchester.” The kind-hearted teacher sat against her desk, facing her student. “I originally planned on pairing you with Charlie because I know how well you two work together. Then I thought about you and about how incredibly smart you are and how it would go to such a waste if it couldn’t help other people.”

The praise made Castiel blush. Sure, Cas was smart but he also was kind of a rebel. Always making it a point to stick away from the social norm. But he made sure that everything he did, no matter how crazy or fun, it would never compromise his intelligence. Ms. Hanscum was still rambling on about how impressive Cas’ test scores were last year and to Cas it just went in one ear and out the other.

“So back to my original point… Dean Winchester.” She paused for a moment waiting for a response.

“What about him,” Cas asked nonchalantly.

“He’s smart. I know it… but he’s got this bad rap. He is under a tremendous amount of pressure to be perfect. He is the star of the football team and popular… he is under the microscope of this entire school and everyone expects beyond greatness from him. But his grades are slipping; he barely passed my class last year. I think he’s dumbing himself down to look cool. Like some cracked up joke that makes his friends laugh. I’d hate to see him fail over something so immature. So I think it is time for him to surround himself with other types of people.”

“Other people,” Cas asked curiously.

“Yes. People like you. People that aren’t afraid to be themselves or to take risks when they seem scary.”

“Okay,” said Castiel, still confused about her main point. “What exactly do you want me to do about this?”

“So I not only want you to be his project partner this year but I also want you to tutor him… and maybe think about spending time with him outside of school. You know… show him what life can be like beyond this town. There is a whole other world out there and I know you know this… I even hear from Charlie you are thinking of going to college in California.” Ms. Hanscum stood back up and started to organize her desk.

“But Dean doesn’t even know I exist. I don’t even know what I would say to the guy beyond giving him a few book suggestions. We come from two completely different worlds…”

“Exactly,” smiled Donna. “ That is what I am hoping for… I know you can do this, Castiel. Just be yourself and everything else will fall into place.” She finished packing up her book bag and started to head out the door. “Thanks again for doing this, Castiel. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Castiel sat for a moment trying to figure out how it was possible to have agreed to this without even saying yes during that entire conversation. He shrugged it off, gathered his things and left the classroom. He was half way down the hall when he saw Lisa leaned on the lockers with Dean pressed against her. Of course they were making out… typical. Head cheerleader dating the captain of the football team. Their school might as well have been the site for a bad teen RomCom movie. Castiel tried to avert his eyes as much as possible and scurried by them unnoticed. He was suddenly stopped short by a captivating voice. It was deep and smooth like a good aged whiskey.

“Hey, Cas! Wait up!”

“Huh? Me? Oh… Hello, Dean.”

“So I guess Ms. H talked to you about tutoring me after school, huh,” Dean commented through his side smile. Castiel noticed his perfect teeth and smooth lips. God, that was annoying.

“Yeah, she mentioned it I guess,” lied Castiel. “You knew about that?”

“Mhm… she asked me if I’d be cool with it yesterday.” Castiel was surprised. He didn’t think Dean even knew who he was, let alone have the guy talk about him with their teacher. He even used the shortened version of him name. “So did you agree? I could really use the help with this class.”

Then Cas realized that Ms. H probably only talked to Dean about the tutoring part of the deal, not so much the being friends part. He figured he’d spare the guy the embarrassment and act as if he knew the same.

“Yes. Of course I’ll help you,” Cas said sternly but with a small smile.

“Great! That’s awesome… thanks man.” Dean slapped Cas on the shoulder and he practically fell over from the impact. “This is going to be a great year.”

Castiel would later come to realize this was true. He just didn’t know it yet.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel Novak, Carver High’s nerd of the century, always sits at the top of the bleachers when his best friend drags him to games. He couldn’t care less about what the score is because his entire focus is on the feeling of the cigarette between his lips. His only pull to the field is when Dean Winchester, the popular quarterback graces the game with his presence. This is their last year before graduation and everything is about to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This series is inspired by some Frank Ocean songs. I’ll link them below. Feel free to listen to them before, during or after you read the chapters. Fair warning, there may be some spoilers if you listen to the songs BUT it could give you a good indication on what the characters are thinking beyond what I put into the fics. 
> 
> Songs:  
> Forrest Gump -Title inspiration, Castiel character inspiration and plot  
> Super Rich Kids- Dean character inspiration and plot  
> Sweet Life- Dean character inspiration and plot  
> Self Control- Dean and Castiel character and plot inspiration  
> Seigfried- Dean’s letter to Castiel and plot  
> Godspeed- Mostly Castiel’s letter to Dean with a little bit of Dean to Cas and plot

 

“Yup. So I am stuck with the guy for the rest of the year,“ Castiel explained to Charlie.

“And you gotta pretend to be his friend and everything? What is Ms. H thinking? It’s Dean freakin’ Winchester for Christ sake… he doesn’t need much help in the friend department. I mean he’s the damn quarterback of the football team. Comes from a rich family… the whole package truthfully. Complete opposite of you to be frank.” The two friends walked down the hall lazily since they both had a free period next.

“I’m just going to take what she said with a grain of salt. I mainly just plan on tutoring the guy. And the year will be over before we know it,” shrugged Cas. He honestly didn’t really expect much from this. Maybe he’d give the guy a couple books or show him a few study tricks.

“How could I forget? You like to remind me every five minutes.” Charlie was only half joking. She wasn’t quite ready to lose her best friend to thousands of miles in distance.

Castiel playfully nudged his best friend with his shoulder and smiled. He’d be lying if he said he felt guilty for leaving. But he just knew he was destined for more and he was ready to leave all of this behind. They walked toward the football field to their favorite oak tree.

“You know you mean a lot to me, Charlie. And we’ll call each other every week.” Cas sat cross-legged, pulled out his brown-bagged lunch and leaned against the tree.

Charlie already pulled out her laptop and was keying away, working on what looked like the next coding for a national hack. Football practice was taking place on the field and Cas watched the cheerleaders jump, the running team race on the track and the football team huddle up. He fiddled with his hat, grabbed his sketchbook from his backpack along with his pack of smokes. The end of the cigarette burned and he rough sketched a few of the players. He sketched their different forms and the landscapes that framed them from behind.

Then a familiar tall figure stopped for a water break. He looked up and saw Castiel in mid puff. He smiled and waved. Cas blushed. Crap. Why was he blushing? Cas shook his head and then waved back awkwardly. Charlie didn’t notice anything and Cas let out a relived sigh after returning to his sketching. Except now he was drawing eyes… and lips… hands and legs. Castiel looked up to the field for reference. For a moment it seemed like everyone was moving in slow motion. It all seemed blurry except for its center concentration. Dean was running towards the end zone and jumped over a hurdle of defensive players. He licked his bottom lip as he elegantly soared over what looked like three solid guys. He could have been mistaken for flying if Cas didn’t know any better. Cas spent extra time on the shading this time. He wanted to get his eyes just right. He showed how they seemed to glisten and light up from the adrenaline. All at once, Cas’ attention was taken away when he saw Charlie get up and walk toward the field.

“Where are you going,” he asked.

“To flirt with those girls over there. And maybe I can get Lisa to stop sucking face with Dean and we can finally start talking about our English project.”

“Maybe you’ll get an invitation to join,” joked Cas. He nearly chocked on his own spit from laughter.

“For her? Any day. As for him… he can see me in his dreams,” Charlie said smugly. She joyfully skipped over to the bleachers and leaned on the chain-linked fence near the girls. Cas’ shameless friend flipped her hair and complimented the team on their skirts.

Castiel laughed and scoffed at his friend’s brazen courage. There was still time left to relax before his next class so he laid out flat on the grass and put in his headphones. Cas closed his eyes and quietly mouthed the words to a few songs and letting the rays of sun kiss his skin. A sudden change in temperature made Cas open his eyes. Dean stood above him, blocking the sunlight. He smiled. For the first time, Cas noticed the crow’s feet at the corners of his classmate’s forest colored eyes.

“Whatcha listenin’ to,” Dean asked genuinely curious.

“Nothing really…” Castiel sat back up onto his elbows. “Did you need something?”

“No. I just wanted to come over and say hey.”

“Why,” asked Cas, slightly offended, “We’re not friends.”

“Not yet,” Dean arrogantly said. “But you just wait, Cas. Everyone ends up loving me; whether they want to or not.”

“I see you have no issues tooting your own horn,” Cas said while laying back down, hoping Dean would leave.

Ignoring his attempt, Dean laid down next to Cas. Side by side they were inches away from each other. Castiel found it strange that he didn’t feel uncomfortable with his close proximity.

“What are you still doing here?” Castiel turned his head and faced his apparent soon to be friend.

“Trying to see the sky from your perspective.” Dean was looking straight up into the sky. Seeing blue hues and cotton soft clouds. The spring leave seemed to dance when the wind blew through them and he smiled at the singing birds. “So what are you doing this weekend?”

“Um… why?”

“Don’t get your panties all in a knot,” Dean chuckled. “I’m having a party at my house on Saturday. My parents are out of town and I’m taking advantage. You should come. Everyone will be there.”

“Was Charlie invited?”

“Okay… not everyone… but you can bring her if you’d like. Is she your girlfriend or somethin’?”

“She’s my best friend. Has been for as long as I can remember.”

“Okay, so bring her! It’s going to be awesome.”

Cas reached over to his bag, pulled out a pack and his favorite neon green lighter. He stuck the cig between his lips and lit it. Then he gestured the pack and offered one to Dean.

“No thanks. I don’t smoke.”

“Good. It’s a nasty habit that I am too stubborn to kick.” Cas took a long drawn out drag and made smoke rings puff through his lips.

“So come by whenever. The party should go on all night.”

“I never said I was going…” Cas closed his eyes and took another puff.

“Uh huh. Sure… See you Saturday, Castiel.” Dean got up and the sunlight framed his figure. His silhouette showed off his perfect muscular curves and Cas watched as he stretched his arms, causing his shirt to lift and show a strip of midriff. It took all effort to peel his eyes off of Dean’s hipbones and what seemed to be the start of a happy trail. When he finally did he huffed back down to the ground and finished his smoke. Dean walked back to the field and straight into the arms of his pretty brunette girlfriend.

“We. Have. To. Go.” Charlie was munching on a few of Castiel’s left over french fries. She couldn’t believe Cas was actually thinking of passing up this opportunity. This was an chance that never came up in their years in high school.

“Why would I want to spend my Saturday night with a bunch of rich ass kids drinking wine coolers. I’d much rather go smoke behind the church and roam around the record store with you.”

“Give me a break, Castiel! Mr. There’s Life Outside This Town, wants to fall into his go to routine for the weekend? I thought you wanted to live in the now or whatever. Meet new people… experience new things. Or all that other hippy shit.”

“I hate to break it to you, Charmander… but going to a party with your classmates is not really the kind of living on the edge experiences I had in mind.”

“Come on, Cas,” whined Charlie, “It’s not everyday I get invited to parties! Meaning… never! So do me a solid and let’s go… do you have any idea what goes on at those parties?”

“Everyone holds hands in a circle and sings Kumbay-fucking-ya?” Castiel laughed maybe too hard at his own jokes. Charlie just ignored him and cleared off the table. They left and started to walk downtown.

“Those girls… those prissy little cheerleaders. They get drunk and they get horny. And you fuckin’ know there isn’t a single guy with big enough balls to use that to their advantage. So they kiss their friends.” Charlie stops Castiel mid walk and grabs his shoulders. She looks him straight in the eye, very serious. “I could be that friend!”

Castiel grabbed his stomach and laughed. He loved how Charlie could make him laugh more than anyone else he knew.

“Okay…okay. We can go. But you owe me. And at the first sign of trouble, we’re out.”

“Deal,” squealed Charlie. She linked her arm into Cas’ and they made their way to the record store.

Loud music, couples making out on the front lawn and red solo cups as far as the eye could see. Pretty much exactly as Cas thought it would look like walking up to a party. What he didn’t expect was the size of the house and the valet that offered to park his old blue 73’ Nova.

“Keys, please?”

“Uhh… sure.” Cas tossed his keys to the valet. “Not a scratch.”

Charlie was wearing a tight tank top and a leather skirt. Cas showed up in a paint stained t-shirt and ripped jeans, the nicest clothes he had. They stood at the bottom of the wooden staircase before the biggest house they’d ever seen. With wide eyes, they both held their breath; afraid to breathe the strange clean air and walk through the doors. Hand in hand, they took their steps and made it to the door. Charlie rang the doorbell out of courtesy but no one answered. Cas, impatient from waiting, just helped himself to open the door.

Inside was chaos. White lines, bowls of green and wine bottles piled high. There were a few girls standing on the nearby coffee table dancing to a song that Cas didn’t know. They walked further into the crowded house and came to a spiral staircase. When they looked up, two more floors of cross-faded teens partied like there was no tomorrow, met their gape.

“What the fuck have you dragged me into, Char?” Castiel felt intimidated for once in his life, out of his element and slightly uneasy.

“Whoa… get a load of this…” Charlie tugged on Cas’ shirt to direct his attention to the couple having sex on the couch. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.”

They slowly made their way up the stairs, taking a few detours to explore each floor. Somewhere between the fourth bathroom and the third mini bar, they picked up a few drinks. The top floor was the main kitchen and living room. It had a balcony that surrounded the whole house and floor to ceiling windows. Their fellow classmates clumped in groups all over and a few drunkenly sang along to the music.

Castiel scanned the room, looking for no one in particular. At least that is what he told himself. He saw a few familiar faces of kids he had classes with but no one he was interested in having small talk. It was a few minutes later that he realized Charlie had walked away to talk to a few of her coding club friends. An arm around his shoulders made the once toned out music come back to full blast in his ears.

“I told you, you’d come.” That whiskey smooth voice again.

“Hello, Dean.”  
“I’m glad you made it, Cas.” Dean patted him on the back.

“It’s Castiel.” Dean ignored him. Cas took a sip of his mixed drink of which he had no idea the contents.

“Can I get you a drink?”

“I’ve already got one.” Cas pursed his lips and raised his glass. “Nice place you’ve got here.”

“It’s my parents. I just bum off them,” Dean said with a wicked smirk.

“Ah the life.” Cas had no idea of that life. He’d grown up in the shittier part of town, being tossed around to countless foster parents. Now he lived by himself in his own studio apartment. “You’re parents don’t mind you throwing parties?”

“My parents wouldn’t fucking know whether it was a bear or the Pope that shit in the woods,” Dean said with a straight face. Cas nearly spit out his drink from the sudden laughter. He thought: He’s funny. Dean smiled at his successful joke. “Nah. They wouldn’t notice. They are gone for weeks on end sometimes and the maids clean up before they get back anyways.”

“You have maids?” Cas thought that was just an exaggerated luxury that died out ages ago.

“Yeah. Rowena is here more than they are… mom still gets lost in the fuckin’ house for Christ sake.” Dean chuckled at the memories. “We had to install intercoms in each room just in case. What sort of cracked up shit is that?” The Winchester laughed a bit more and then grabbed Castiel by the elbow. “Come on. There are some people I want you to meet.”

Dean led Cas into the game room. It was quieter in there; mostly people were sitting and talking. The others were playing billiards and chess. The lights were dim and there wasn’t any music playing but you could still hear the bass through the walls. They walked over to the back corner, where of course was another mini bar. Dean jumped in with ease and greeted his friends. Cas recognized a few of the guys from the football team. He was sure he drew the brunette’s ass at point or another. And the two girls, one with blonde hair and the other with short dyed blue.

“Guys! I’d like you to meet my friend. This is Castiel. Castiel… this is the gang.” Dean stood behind Cas with his hands on his shoulders. Starting from the left, Dean introduced his friends. “That’s Gabe, he plays running back. That blonde shit head is Sebastian or Seb if you please, and he’s usually defensive guard…” Cas smiled and awkwardly waved to the obviously distracted boys. “This beauty is Lilly and that one over there is Claire, she likes to pretend she’s nice but we all know her bitchy true colors.”

“Shut the fuck up, Dean,” snapped Claire. She knew he was just joking but she still gave him a punch in the shoulder for the snarky remark. Lilly jumped down from her bar stool and stood in front of Cas. She was the only one who bothered to introduce herself. She was tall, cute and had hair the color of Morning Glory flowers. She wore a fancy green top, black skirt and knee length socks. To top it off she wore cat ears, subtle enough to pass as a fashionable headband.

“Hi, Castiel. I’m Lilly. Nice to meet you!” Cas liked her already. He could tell by her smile she was genuine. “Ignore these idiots. They’re drunk…I’d say they’re usually not this douchey but then I’d be a liar.” Cas instantly felt more at ease from her presence. “So how come I’ve never seen you around before?”

“Oh well, I-“ Dean interrupted before Cas could finish.

“Castiel here says we’d never be friends… and I brought him along to prove him wrong.”

“Of course you did, Dean. Give this kid a break. Hate to pop your little bubble but we actually can’t stand you,” joked Claire.

“Ha! Right, which is why you guys spend every waking minute following me around,” Dean pulled in Claire for a hug and gave her a noogie.

“As I was saying,” Cas continued, “I’m just not much of an extrovert, I suppose. I most spend my time drawing, listening to music or hiking or somethin’.”

“Well that’s great,” exclaimed Lilly, “I don’t think I’ve ever been on a hike before.”

“I can take you on a trail sometime if you’d like…” Cas going out of his comfort zone to make new friends felt scary and exhilarating all at once. “There is a good trail west of town.”

“Hey Lilly, have you seen Lisa? I haven’t seen her much tonight.” Dean looked around, sighing with no sight of her.

“I think she said something about taking a nap in your room,” she said gently.

“Okay. Come on, Cas. I want you to meet her.” Cas waved bye to Lilly and the rest of the gang and then followed Dean through a mess of hallways. They passed by countless doors and it felt like an endless hallway. Castiel wondered what was behind each door. How could a house need this many rooms? Did they each have their own impractical use? Were each decorated to their own accord or were they cookie cutter floor plans? They stopped at the last room on the left of the hallway. It must be Dean’s, thought Cas.

The door creaked when it opened. Lisa was on the bed, straddling the lap of some hunky blonde guy from another school. She bounced up and down with her hands through her hair. His arms were permanently glued to her hips and he pulled her down hard onto his dick. They both screamed and moaned, still unaware of the presence of Dean and Castiel. Dean slammed the door shut, creating a loud bang.

The horrible thing was they didn’t stop. Lisa just looked up at Dean, pulled some stray sweat drenched hair off her faced and smiled. Without another word, Dean turned around and left; gently closing the door behind him after Castiel followed him out.

Castiel tried to ignore the obvious hurt that laid behind those green eyes. It wasn’t a look he’d like to remember seeing on the freshly shaven face. Cas placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder to show some presence.

“Follow me.” Cas walked side-by-side Dean up the last flight of stairs and made it to the empty roof. Castiel walked to the edge and took a deep breath. “I’ve never seen a view like this in town.” He turned around to look at Dean. The somber man stood still plain faced near the door. Cas turned back to the night sky. “What about you? I’m sure this was the backdrop to all of your childhood birthday parties…that must have been nice. It’s all surreal to me.” Castiel turned his head back to Dean and smiled again. After he turned back to the view, he jumped up onto the narrow ledge.

“What the fuck are you doing,” yelled Dean, “Get the fuck down from there before you fall!” Dean ran over and grabbed Castiel’s legs, trying to pry him off the ledge.

“Come on… Join me! The air is great up here.” Castiel leaned his head back, closed his eyes and flung his arms out to the side. “Fly with me, Dean.”

“No fuckin’ way! I’m not about to jump.”

“Who said anything about jumping?” Cas took a deep breath and stuck his hand out for Dean. “You can trust me.” Castiel smiled and motioned for Dean to join him on the ledge. Hesitantly but willing, Dean grabbed his hand and hoisted himself to stand. Dean nervously clung to Cas’ arm, afraid to fall or even look down. “Close your eyes.”

“What?” Dean looked at Cas like he was insane.

“Just do it.” Dean inhaled and closed his eyes. With a drawn out exhale, he finally let go of Castiel’s arm. “Now your arms.” Cas lifted each one to stretch to his sides. After helping Dean move into position, Cas moved back to his original stance.

A strong wind blew through the both of them, ruffling their hair and rattling their clothes. And then it happened. Dean started to laugh. He laughed at the feeling of the wind rubbing his face. He laughed at the cold air chapping his lips and he laughed at the free fall feeling he was experiencing. After of few minutes of relishing in the weightless sensation, he let his arms down, stood for a brief moment then let out a tear.

Castiel helped his friend take a seat on the ledge with their legs hanging over the side. The blue-eyed wonder reached into his back pocket and pulled out his half empty pack and neon green lighter. Cas lit up a roll and puffed out a few thick clouds. He offered a pass to Dean who shook his head, declining in response. They sat quietly for a while before Dean broke the silence.

“Cas, I’m sor-“

“You are under no obligation to apologize,” Cas said firmly. The cigarette burned slowly between Castiel’s lips. The glowing embers being some of the only light on the roof other than the moon. “Can I ask you something, Dean?”

“Sure.”

“Why have you taken such an interest in me? I think you’ve talked to me more this week than you have in the four or so years that I have known you.”

“Well it as about time I did then, huh?” Dean smiled but Cas could tell it was forced. “You’re different Cas. Not like all of these fake fucks that call themselves my friends and then trash my house.”

“But you don’t even know me.” Cas was being honest. Dean didn’t know anything about him and Cas didn’t know much about Dean. He thought it was strange that two people could live in such close proximity to each other and know almost nothing about the one another.

“And I plan to change that. I’m pretty tired of this shit anyways.” Dean raised his hand and motioned to his house and yard. There was still people stumbling out, drunk and walking home. “This sweet life of domesticated paradise, European cars and endless parties is not it’s all hyped up to be…It’s not really living.”

“I don’t understand. You have the world at your fingertips. If I had that kind of power… I’d…”

“Yeah?”

“I’d, I don’t know… make some kind of difference or something. Escape that inevitable oblivion everyone always fears… or at least I fear. No one here seems to have a problem with wasting their life away inside this place. Don’t they know there’s a whole other world outside of Clayton?” Cas took one last drag from his cig and then smashed it into the wall. “That’s why I’m getting out of here right after graduation.”

“You’re leaving,” Dean asked trying not to sound too disappointed.

“And you’re not?”

“Nah… I’m not like you. I’m not brave.” Dean swung his feet and kicked the side of the house. “We better get back inside. You better find Charlie before she gets into any real trouble.” Dean smiles and hopped off the ledge to the ground.

When they got back inside, the party had died down to a simmer. There were only a few people left. Some passed out, some making out and others still drinking. Charlie was found in the corner kissing a blonde and she gave a quick wink to Cas when they passed by. Cas stopped in his track when Lisa walked by holding hands with the beefy guy from earlier. Dean just kept walking.

“You ready to go,’ asked Charlie when she showed up and hugged Cas from behind.

“Yeah… sure.”

“Where did you end up? I lost track of you after I found Sam.”

“I went flying.” Cas watched Dean make his way through the hall, trying to not step on the passed out kids sleeping on the wooden floors. Dean turned around and Cas waved him goodbye before turning around to leave. His back was turned and he missed Dean smiling back to him.

“Thanks for the flight, Cas.”

 


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel Novak, Carver High’s nerd of the century, always sits at the top of the bleachers when his best friend drags him to games. He couldn’t care less about what the score is because his entire focus is on the feeling of the cigarette between his lips. His only pull to the field is when Dean Winchester, the popular quarterback graces the game with his presence. This is their last year before graduation and everything is about to change.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This series is inspired by some Frank Ocean songs. I’ll link them below. Feel free to listen to them before, during or after you read the chapters. Fair warning, there may be some spoilers if you listen to the songs BUT it could give you a good indication on what the characters are thinking beyond what I put into the fics. 
> 
> Songs:  
> Forrest Gump -Title inspiration, Castiel character inspiration and plot  
> Super Rich Kids- Dean character inspiration and plot  
> Sweet Life- Dean character inspiration and plot  
> Self Control- Dean and Castiel character and plot inspiration  
> Seigfried- Dean’s letter to Castiel and plot  
> Godspeed- Mostly Castiel’s letter to Dean with a little bit of Dean to Cas and plot

“How can Death narrate a book,” Dean asked confused by Castiel’s book suggestion.

“It is written in his perspective. First person omniscient, which means the narrator is a part of the story but also knows the thoughts and feeling of the other characters. It’s a pretty rare form of narration,” Castiel explained further.

“I don’t know… a book about the Holocaust? Not sure I’d be into that.”

“Markus Zusak is brilliant. He has a way with threading together beauty and devastation that most authors couldn’t touch with a ten-foot pole. This would make a great choice for our senior year report. We could compare its character of Death with other literary works. Ms. H would be very impressed.”

Castiel handed Dean the book and he gladly took it. Dean skimmed through a few pages and then tossed it into his backpack. It had been a few weeks since the party and Dean had been meeting Cas after school every other day for tutoring. They’d meet at the library, the park by the football field and Dean’s house. Today they chose the park. Castiel laid out a large picnic blanket underneath the tree for shade. They spent the day in the sun reading books and swapping music. Before they knew it, time flew by and the sun was setting.

“Same time next week,” Castiel asked.

“Yeah. For sure, Cas. Thanks again for the help.” Dean packed up his bag and left.

Castiel stayed in the park for a few more hours. He relaxed with his arms behind his head, counting the fireflies and mapping out the constellations. Spring was nearing its end and the nights were warm from the coming summer. Cas played back the last few study sessions with Dean in his mind and thought about how with each day, he came to realize Dean wasn’t such a bad person. Dean wasn’t exactly as Cas originally pinned him to be; rich and spoiled of course but more humble and witty than anyone he’d ever met.

Meanwhile, Dean was driving home down a long hazily lit road. He hadn’t been able to wipe that jaw aching smile off his face since he left the park. Never once in his life had he met someone as interesting as Castiel. The guy didn’t waste time talking about the latest trend in shoes or gossip. He didn’t even have the urge to be drunk and party every night. All he cared about was the world, its endless possibilities and having the opportunity to take them. Dean wasn’t brave like Cas. He knew he wasn’t destined to leave a lasting mark in this world. Winchesters were set to take over the family business, get married, have kids and live in the same town for generations to come.

The next day, Castiel and Charlie were having lunch in their usual spot between classes. The football team and cheer squad were having their daily practice and Castiel of course was having a smoke. Castiel was in the middle of sketching when Mr. Kinny, the art teacher, climbed the bleachers.

“Mr. Novak…”

“Hey Mr. Kinny! What’s up?”

“There is something I need to ask you.” He looked down at Castiel’s sketchbook. “What are you working on?”

“Uh… nothing,” Castiel said nervously while covering up his drawings of lips.

“So listen… I’ve been keeping an eye on you all semester and I’m impressed with your work.”

“Thanks,” blushed Cas, “But to be honest, you haven’t seen much of my work besides school assignments.”

“Well if your side projects are anywhere near as good as them, I’m sure they are remarkable. Back to my, point… I’ve been impressed with your work and a friend of mine runs an art gallery a few towns over.” The teacher sat down, picked up a sketchbook and flipped through it. “He asked me to recommend him some students for his upcoming artist spot for his next show… and I suggested you.”

“Are you serious,” Cas questioned hesitantly.

“Dead serious. You’ve got incredible potential, Castiel. So what to do say? You up for the challenge?”

“Fuck yea- oh I mean absolutely,” exclaimed Castiel.

They stood, shook hands and then exchanged a time for a meeting with the art dealer. Castiel became so excited, he gathered all of his sketches into his arms and ran down the bleachers to start work in the art room. A few loose pieces fell to the ground without notice and he flew by Charlie without a word.

Dean stood distracted from the huddle by Castiel’s sudden disappearance. He shook out his thoughts and continued with practice. After their team scrimmage, Dean stayed behind to clean up the messy field. Among the crushed water cups and empty sunflower seed shells, Dean found crumpled pieces of paper. He picked up one in particular, flattened it out and dusted it off. Stunning drawings of lips and eyes were drafted over the page. Thinking they were too good to throw away, he folded it up and stuffed it into his pocket and didn’t think about it for the rest of the day.

A few days later, Cas found himself on the roof of Dean’s house. Dean snacked on some fancy food the butler whipped up while he read The Book Thief out loud. Cas sat on the ledge facing away from him, letting the words sink into his mind.

Dean quoted, “I wanted to tell the book thief many things, about beauty and brutality. But what could I tell her about those things that she didn’t already know? I wanted to explain that I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race-that rarely do I ever simply estimate it. I wanted to ask her how the same thing could be so ugly and so glorious, and its words and stories so damning and brilliant.” He paused and then shut the book. “Wow.”

“Hmm?” Cas turned to face his friend.

“I didn’t think I could ever like such a morbid book.”

“Morbid?” Castiel agreeing but also curious about what he was think about.

“Mhm… okay. Whatta you say we get out of here?”

“What did you have in mind,” Castiel ask cautiously.

“Why not show me one of those hikes you are always raving about,” Dean provoked. “I’ve just gotta grab my jacket and we can go.”

Castiel followed Dean back to his room. He leaned against the doorframe and tried to block out the image of Lisa fucking some high off his ass guy on the bed. Dean dug through his closet and pulled out an old leather jacket.

“Do you want to borrow one?”

“Hm? Oh… no thanks. I’m fine.” Castiel leaned stiff with his arms crossed, quietly observing the baffling large room.

Dean, with his jacket half way on, stopped to look at Cas’ rigid stature. He scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Need a formal invitation or something? Quit standing at the door and staring; it’s freakin’ me out,” he laughed.

Cas flipped him off and then walked in slowly while scanning the room. He noticed that the room was ten times nicer and bigger than his whole studio apartment. It had a walk in closest, king sized bed and a bathroom. Castiel fiddled with a few trophies displayed on a nearby shelf and admired the dusty pictures. All of them dirty minus the ones of Dean with his little brother Sam.

“I practically raised the kid,” commented Dean.

“What?” Castiel picked up a picture of Dean playing baseball and cleaned it off with his shirt.

“My little brother, Sammy. Our parents are always on business trips. So I was left at home with him and there was no fucking way I’d let the maids run things and have him grow up to be some pretentious dickhead.”

“I know him. He is in coding with Charlie. Nice kid.”

“Thanks.” Dean packed a backpack with a few things and then tossed Castiel a coat. “Okay! We’re off!”

On their way out of the room, Castiel saw a wrinkled piece of paper tacked to the corkboard by the door. He unpinned it to get a closer look.

“Isn’t that cool? I found it on the ground of the school field a few days ago. It was too good to throw away.” Dean smiled and walked to the door. “That saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, must be true.”

“Hm… yeah.” Castiel pinned it back up on the board and smiled. It was amusing to Cas that Dean hadn’t realized the lips and eyes on the drawing were of his own. He figured it best be kept a secret for now.

Dean walked the unpaved trail, kicking a rock along with him. The sun was setting and the air was damp. There was no need for conversation; they both simply enjoyed the silence. A single tree rooted atop the grassy hill and an old tire swing was hanging from a thick branch. Cas jumped onto it and howled as he swung back and forth.

“Man this is exhilarating! Can you feel it?” Cas embraced the air blowing through his hair and he tore a few leaves off the branch that he could reach.

“Feel what,” Dean looked at Cas like he was childish.

“That fresh almost summer air? Doesn’t it just smell incredible? It’s calling out for us…just waiting for us to…”

Dean interrupts, “to grab it by the balls?”

“Well that’s one way to put it,” snorted Cas.

Dean sat down at the base of the tree. From the top of the hill you could see the entire town. He watched the sun go down and he thought about his life up to that point. Then he looked at Castiel, who was giddily swinging on the tire. He was envious. Envious of a guy who he barely knew. Envious of his freedom. He yearned for a life unpaved.

“How do you do it,” Dean finally asked.

“Do what?”

“Have days likes these? Know what you know… and come from a place like this…”

Cas pondered for a moment, looked up at the strong branches of the tree and then started to climb. He settled on one, mid height and sat with his legs hanging.

“You just going to stand there,” Cas asked while he looked down at Dean.

Dean started to climb but half way up, his foot slipped and he tumbled down. Determined, he tried again but this time he had some help. Castiel reached down and gripped his hand with Dean. He pulled him up with success and they sat side by side in the tree.

“I come up here sometimes to remind myself,” pondered Cas.

“Remind you of what exactly?”

“Remind me that I am tiny in this world. To remind me how much more of this world is up for grabs beyond the boarders of Clayton. All of these places, all of these people… this whole fucking town for Christ sake is not my ending. I may be tiny… but that just leaves more for the taking.”

“Okay class, today I want you all to get together with your project partners and finish the final details on you presentations. You only have a week left! So get going!” Ms. H wrote a few detailed instructions on the whiteboard. She pulled out some example reports and a couple of old poster boards.

Dean walked over to Castiel and sat backwards on the desk seat to face him. He scribbled some notes into his binder and passed it over to him. Castiel read his jottings and started hysterically laughing. Dean’s smile lit up and joined him in the apparent inside joke. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on Cas’ shoulder, embracing the hilarity. Just then Lisa and Todd, her new boyfriend for the week, walked by with their hands all over each other.

“What the fuck are you? A couple of queers,” shrieked Lisa. She laughed side-splittingly and held on to the arm of the burly baseball player.

“Disgusting,” spit Todd.

“Fuck off, Lisa.” Lilly looked up from her desk gave the head cheerleader a dirty look. She hadn’t spoken to her former friend since the night of the party.

Dean quickly turned around and shrugged off Castiel. He kept his head down for the rest of the day, scribbling notes into his book. Castiel didn’t take much offense to Dean’s reaction. Cas knew what people could be like and truthfully, he’d prefer not to have any attention drawn to himself. Plus he had just started being friends with Dean. He still didn’t know much more about him than any of his other friends. So why was it such a big deal? Apparently it was enough to get shit for it from people like Princess Lisa and royal Todd.

A folded up piece of paper unexpectedly fell into Castiel’s lap. It was folded with effort and Cas opened it warily. On it listed a time and place; then was signed on the bottom by a color swatch of forest green colored pencil.

After school, Castiel drove just to the outskirts of town to an elementary school. Dean was waiting on a bench at the end of the parking lot with a brown paper bag. Green eyes tossed Castiel a candy bar and then they walked over to the nearby swings.

“So it appears a mystery person sent me this coded message to come to the swings. Looks like you got the same one,” teased Castiel as he started to pump his feet.

Dean tossed Castiel another candy bar and rocked back and forth on his swing. “Shut up and eat your candy.”

Ignoring his friend, Castiel pestered on, “So why did you bring me here?”

“You said that view of the town reminded you of something incredibly overwhelming.”

Castiel nodded in agreement.

“I similarly come here sometimes to watch the kids play on the schoolyard,” admitted Dean.

“That doesn’t sound creepy at all, nope.” Castiel smirked and winked at his obviously pathetic joke.

“Shut up, I’m trying to be profound here…anyways, I sit here on the swings and watch the kids play. It keeps me grounded. It reminds me that the world is vast and that freedom and innocence shouldn’t be taken for granted. It’s gone in a flash. Thing is you never know what you’re missing until it’s gone. I’ve never been able to enjoy my freedoms. I’ve been stuck in a picture perfect lifestyle that was dreamt up by another man. So much so that I don’t even know who I really am or what I even truly enjoy doing. I’ve been told my whole life: go to school, play football, take over the family business, get married and have kids and then that would be it. The end. And for a long time I thought that was enough…”

“What’s changed,” asked Castiel, now with a much more serious tone of voice.

“You.” Dean looked up with an earnest face.

“Me?” Castiel’s pupils dilated. He tried to hide it.

“I see you and I see the aspirations and ambitions you have to take on the world. And I admit that I am jealous. I wish that I had the courage to take my life into my own hands. I never understood how little I knew about the world until you happened.” Dean barely swung in his seat and he looked to the floor when he spoke. He fiddled with the empty candy wrapper in his hands and then he stuffed it into his jacket pocket.

“But I haven’t lived yet… I haven’t even left Clayton for fuck sake!” Castiel was confused. How could a person admire someone who was just a dreamer? Dreamers don’t do anything but fill their heads with impossible ideas. Castiel felt like a fraud.

“Listen Cas, I still don’t even know you that well and I’ve just given you the best compliment I’ve probably ever give anyone… ever! So shut up and take the damn compliment,” grumbled Dean while he rolled his eyes. Castiel smiled and his eyes lit up so much that for the first time, Dean noticed that their color reminded him of a still lake.

“Thanks, Dean. At least there is one person other than Charlie who thinks there is more to me than cigarettes and my enchanting wit.”

“Well if I knew you were going to be this boastful, I never would have given you the compliment,” teased Dean.

That night, Dean was alone in the house. No parents or maids around and Sam was spending the night over at his girlfriend’s house. He lounged on his bed scrolling through random porn websites. He settled on a video of Asian girl having sex with her teacher during detention. Dean got comfortable, taking off his shirt and jeans and keeping his boxers on for now. He palmed himself to the site of the girl squeezing her own fake tits and the guy eating her out. He turned off the volume since he detested the sound of the porn star’s fake moaning.

Dean preferred much more to hear himself get off. He loved to close his eyes, move has hand up and down his shaft slowly and let out gruff prolonged moans. Dean pulled down his boxers and then kicked them off the bed. His arousal started out as a tingle at the base and as it grew, so did the sensation. He gripped tighter with each stroke and grazed his thumb over the head of his cock. Dean hiss and bucked his hips as the coil in him tightened. His other hand moved from pinching his nipple, down to massage his balls. The spark in his want grew and he arched his back while he fucked into his hand. Dean flipped over onto his stomach and pulled a pillow underneath him. He thrust his hips down hard and the material of the pillowcase became smeared with precum. After awhile, the image of the plastic girl faded away and a scruffy face with blue eyes invaded his thoughts. For some unknown reason, it really got him going. His drives became more demanding, his grip on the sheets were more aggressive and his edging bliss was nearing faster.

Dean bit down on the pillow and huffed and moaned so loud that if anyone else were in the house, they could hear it on another floor. The closer he got to his climax, he would pause and edge himself to calm down and then back to the brink again. Dean imagined those peach pink lips and those clear blue lake eyes. After imagining pulling on the soft hair of his friend, he came. He erupted with screams of Castiel’s name with loud moans in between them.

Dean collapsed onto the bed from exhaustion. He wanted to keep stroking and make himself hard again but he was too sensitive to the touch. The best orgasm he’d ever had just transpired and he wanted more. He couldn’t get enough. There wasn’t any time to even think about why he was fantasizing about Cas, he just knew it was fucking incredible and it got him off like never before. He reached down to clean himself up and found that he was still hard. Dean took a deep breath and then went for it, fast and hard. He came for the second time within a few minutes, picturing his disheveled haired friend sucking him off.

The Winchester laid there, covered in his own come, on the brink of sleep. Just as his eyes were about to close, he jolted up and out of bed, being flooded with the awareness of what he just did. He didn’t understand what this all meant; did this mean he was gay? Or was just for Castiel? Or could this all be because of how much time he was spending with the guy. Castiel was on his mind a lot lately. More importantly, how was he going to face Castiel tomorrow? Dean crawled back into bed and curled up into a ball. It took effort to fall asleep but once he did, he dreamed of chaotic brown hair, blue eyes and peach pink lips.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Four, coming soon!


End file.
